FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - A renewed lowering of annual targets caused the pharmaceutical and laboratory equipment supplier Sartorius and its French subsidiary Sartorius Stedim Biotech to suffer a slump in share prices on Friday. Analysts had already feared a profit warning, but also pointed to the announced review of the company's medium-term targets. Richard Vosser of U.S. bank JPMorgan now expects consensus estimates to drop significantly not only for 2023, but also for the coming years.

Sartorius shares slipped 15 percent at the bottom of the Dax to a low since mid-2020 and were still down 11.7 percent to 284 euros at midday. Sartorius Stedim Biotech was down 15.7 percent at 189.55 euros, having at times been as cheap as they were last in April 2020. This dragged down the entire medical sector, with the European sector index, which had recently recovered, losing 1.3 percent.

The year-to-date performance of both stocks is also dismal. While Sartorius has lost around 23 percent, making it one of the weakest stocks in Germany's leading index, the subsidiary's share price has fallen by a good 37 percent. Compared to their record highs in the fall of 2021, Sartorius and Sartorius Stedim Biotech have lost more than half and almost two-thirds of their value, respectively.

With the publication of key data for the third quarter, it became known that Sartorius now expects sales revenue to decline by about 17 percent in 2023. Previously, the company had spoken of a decline "in the low to mid-teens percent range." For the operating Ebitda margin (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), Sartorius now expects to achieve slightly more than 28 percent, down from the previous figure of around 30 percent, which also means a more significant decline compared with the previous year's figure.

Sartorius expects to achieve profitable growth in 2024. However, investors will not know more details until January. However, the company also said that its medium-term targets are currently being reviewed and that an update will also be communicated at the beginning of next year.

JPMorgan expert Vosser saw the sales and even more so the operating profit development of both companies in the third quarter clearly below expectations. The same applies to the new annual outlook. Oliver Metzger of the investment bank Oddo BHF attested that Sartorius had a very weak third quarter and considered its medium-term targets to be too ambitious. At the same time, the share is still expensive, added Warburg analyst Michael Heider.

Some experts, however, already see light at the end of the tunnel. After the recent cautious comments by Sartorius and industry peers, the reduced annual targets do not come as a big surprise to him, wrote Odysseas Manesiotis of the private bank Berenberg. Investors should seize the slump in the share price as an opportunity to enter the market.

James Vane-Tempest of the U.S. analyst firm Jefferies predicts some fluctuations in Sartorius shares until the trends stabilize again and there is more clarity. However, he emphasized that the medium- to long-term growth trends in the industry are intact./gl/ag/stk